Improvement in tools for riving splints



W. BAKER. TOOL FOR RIVING SPLINTS.

No. 43,281. Patented June 28, 1864.

UNITED STA ES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM BAKER, OF EAST TEMPLETON, MASSACHUSETTS.

IMPROVEMENT IN TOOLS FOR RIVING SPLiNTS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 43,281, dated June 28, 1864.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM BAKER, of East Templeton, in the county of Worcester and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and Improved Splint-Riving Tool; and I knife. Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the same.

Fig. 4 is a rear elevation of the same. Similar letters of reference in all the figure indicate corresponding parts.

This invention relates to an improvement in that class of tools which are used for the purpose of making splints for baskets, chair-bottoms, and other articles. p

The invention consists in the employment oa-use of a wedge-shaped knife with a'square or oblique cutting-edge, and adjustable in a stock by a suitable set-screw or set-screws in s rob a manner that when the cutting edge becomes dull it can be easily sharpened and readj usted in the proper position. The sole of the tool is adjustable up or down, so that it can be set according to the thickness of the splints required, and a movable strip of wood or metal is combined with the stock, knife, and adjustable sole' in such a manner that one part of the cutting-edge after the other can be brought in operation, and if one part becomes dull it can be coveredup by the adjustable strip and the cutting performed by the ad' joining sharp portion of the knife.

A represents the stock of my riving-tool, which may be made of cast-iron or any other suitable material, and which consists of two bars, a, connected at one end by a cross-bar, b. The longitudinal bars a of the stock are provided with ledges 0 near their lower edges, (see Fig. 4,) and th( se ledges support the knife 1%. The cross-bar b is made lower than the longitudinal bars a, so that its under surface will be flush with the upper surface'of the lodges and with the under surface of the knife, as clearly shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings. The knife is'madc in the shape of a wedge with an oblique cutting-edge, and it is held in place by two screws, d, passing laterally through the longitudinal bars a of the stock. A set-screw, d bearin g on the back ofthe knife, serves to adjust its cutting-edge to the desired position. The thickness of the splints to be produced or the quality of the cut is determined by the sole or face-plate O, which is fitted over the open end of the stock and made adjustable by four set-screws, e, which pass up through the bars a, and it is held in position by-the screws f, passing through the upper part of said plate into the longitudinal bars a. The inner edge of the face-plate or sole is beveled ofi to correspond to the cutting-edge of the knife. By means of the set-screws e the sole of the plate G can be raised or lowered,

and the knife cuts deeper or shallower, accord-- cutting-edge of the knife is two or more times as wide as the splint-s to be produced, and on account of its inclination the splii its to be out have a tendency to run toward that portion of said cutting-edge which is farthest in 'rear, and all the cutting has to be done by. that portion of the knife. If said portion is dull, I attach to the under side of the cross-bar b and to the sole 0 a strip, D, of wood or metal, just wide enough to cover up the dull portion of the cutting-edge, and the next portion of the knife is brought into action. If this portion becomes dull and the width of the knife will allow it,-the strip D is again shifted, and the next portion of the cuit'ng-edge is brought into action until it is rendered dull throughout, when the knife has to be taken out and sharpened and then readjusted. A plate, E, fastened by means of screws 71 to the upper edges of the longitudinal bars a, protects the knife and a slot, 5, between this plate, and the upper surface of the cross-bar b, allows the splints to pass out without coming in contact with the operator. The tool is drawn along by means of a yoke, F, which is pivoted to the outside of the stock A, and to which the motive power is applied by means of ahook catching in the holej, or in any other suitable manner. By this hinged yoke the tool is enabled to follow the sinuosities of the wood, and splints of a uniform thickness are preduced.

My knife is made in the form'of a wedge,- as

previously explained, and I prefer a knife of the form shown in Fig. 1 of the -'drawings, be-

cause it is readily shap'ened. It leaves the splint smooth, has no tendency to 'roll'the samerup, edgewise and to crush the grain of the wood; Finally, a knife of this kind will not spring or bend when used in the hardest'wopd,

and, being very thin on its cutting-edge, it passes through the, wood much easier than a knife of the ordinary shape.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

fied.

WILLIAM BAKER. Witnesses: r

S. M. Oseoon,

J OHN WATTS. 

